Jean Chrétien out of hospital following brain surgery

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien was sent home Monday after undergoing emergency brain surgery Friday at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital.

Blood that had pooled in the space between his skull and brain was removed in the procedure.

Mr. Chrétien was advised to take it easy for a couple of weeks before returning to his regular activities.

By all reports he was the ideal patient during his three-day stay, cracking jokes and telling stories one day after undergoing two hours of surgery.

The 76-year-old arrived at the hospital Friday morning from Shawinigan,Que. after complaining of having difficulty walking.

A CT scan revealed a three-centimetre subdural hematoma, which shifted his brain about 1.5 centimetres. Medical staff said they were surprised by the result because Mr. Chrétien was completely lucid.

Dr. Jeff Golan, the 33-year-old neurosurgeon who operated on Mr. Chrétien, said he successfully evacuated the blood that accumulated on the right-hand side of Mr. Chrétien’s brain.

“The potential was there for his life to have been in danger,” Dr. Golan said.

The procedure involved making a 10-centimetre incision to open the skull in order to gain access to the subdural cavity, which is the part between the skull and the brain, and then removing the blood and blood products, washing them out thoroughly.

Dr. Golan said that it was “critical” they operate immediately in order to prevent the hematoma from affecting the left, or dominant, side of Mr. Chrétien’s brain.

“[If] this had been on the opposite side of his head — his dominant side — he would surely have had more cognitive symptoms, which he did not have,” Dr. Golan said.

Doctors said the bleeding might have been caused by a fall Mr. Chrétien took at the end of June on his basement stairs, but it’s impossible to know for sure.

“The bleeding was present in some shape or form for at least a week or two,” the doctor said.